HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 1 MARCH 2018
 
SECRETARY-GENERAL SPEAKS OUT AGAINST ATTACK THAT KILLED 4 PEACEKEEPERS IN MALI

• In a statement yesterday, the Secretary-General strongly condemned the attack that killed four Bangladeshi peacekeepers and seriously injured four others in Mopti region. This incident happened one day after six members of the Malian armed forces died from another improvised explosive device attack in central Mali.
• The Secretary-General conveys his condolences to the Governments of Bangladesh and Mali and his profound sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims. He wishes a swift recovery to the injured.

• Staffan de Mistura, the Special Envoy for Syria, briefed reporters in Geneva today about his ongoing political work, and added that today, the priority needs to be stopping the suffering and the tragedy of the civilians in Eastern Ghouta and elsewhere. We cannot see a copycat of Aleppo taking place, he warned.
• His Special Adviser for humanitarian issues, Jan Egeland, told the press that Eastern Ghouta is devoid of respect for international law, saying that 24 attacks had been reported between 18 and 22 February alone, including attacks on 14 hospitals, 3 health centres and 2 ambulances.
• Between 19 and 25 February, 540 people – including 114 women and 155 children – were reportedly killed and 3,057 people were reportedly injured due to the fighting in Eastern Ghouta.
• The only United Nations delivery of assistance to Eastern Ghouta in 2018 was on 14 February, when a convoy with assistance for 7,200 people reached Nashabiyah. The United Nations and humanitarian partners continue to stand ready to deliver humanitarian assistance to the besieged enclave. 

• Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Andrew Gilmour will be in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, from tomorrow to 4 March, where he will visit camps housing Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and speak to those who fled across the border in recent weeks.
• The Assistant Secretary-General will also meet with local government officials and non-governmental organisations, as well as UN and other humanitarian partners.
• In Dhaka on 5 March, Mr. Gilmour is due to meet with senior Government officials and representatives from Bangladesh’s National Human Rights Commission to discuss the human rights situation in Cox’s Bazar.
• At the end of his visit, he will issue a statement to the media.

• The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Central Africa, François Louncény Fall, is in Cameroon to consult on and assess recent developments in the South-West and North-West regions of the country and encourage a peaceful resolution of the crisis through dialogue and in accordance with international standards of human rights and humanitarian law.
• Mr. Fall held consultations in Yaoundé, Douala and in the two concerned regions, including with Government officials, political stakeholders, the diplomatic corps and civil society, among others.
• He will be in Cameroon until 4 March.

• The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, concluded a five-day mission to Sudan, including to Darfur and South Kordofan. She expressed satisfaction at the progress made in the implementation of the Action Plan to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict signed in 2016 by the Government of Sudan, but she noted that more needs to be done to ensure that all children in Sudan continue to be protected from violence.
• Progress includes the issuance of command orders by all Government security forces and allowing dialogue between the UN and non-state armed groups who are also engaged in Action Plans with the UN. Access has also allowed for joint UN-Government monitoring and verification missions, and training of security forces in all affected conflict states in 2017. Despite the good news, violence still affects hundreds of children across Sudan, particularly in Darfur.

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that clashes in northern Central African Republic have continued to trigger influxes of people seeking refuge in neighbouring southern Chad.
• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the National Refugee Agency (CNARR) in Chad have registered over 20,000 new refugees with groups of people continuing to cross the border.
• UNHCR is coordinating humanitarian assistance and distributing non-food items, while the World Food Programme is carrying out food distributions as non-governmental organizations run mobile clinics.
• Relocations are ongoing to refugee camps or host villages, further away from the border, but these are challenged by limited hosting capacities and lack of resources.
• Southern Chad is already hosting some 77,000 refugees and 43,000 Chadian returnees.

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says it is deeply concerned by the intensification of armed conflict in Sebha, in southern Libya, over the past week. At least six civilians have been killed and several more have been injured since the beginning of hostilities in Sebha in early February. The main hospital has been hit by crossfire multiple times over this period. Some 600 people are reported to have fled the impacted neighbourhoods to other locations within Sebha district but most people are confined to their homes as a result of the clashes.
• Humanitarian health providers are supporting medical facilities in the area to cope with incoming casualties. The Humanitarian Coordinator for Libya, Maria do Valle Ribeiro, has called on all parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law, and to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities.

• The Food and Agriculture Organization released its Food Price Index for last month.
• It shows that rising world prices for staple grains and dairy products more than offset lower prices for vegetable oils, leading global food commodity prices up 1.1 percent in February.
• The FAO also lowered its projections for worldwide wheat harvests this year, while noting that inventory levels are poised to hit a record high.
• Unfavorable weather in South America and Southern Africa, along with an expected contraction in plantings, points to a likely output decline for maize in the southern hemisphere.

• Nearly 19 million babies born globally every year are at risk of permanent brain damage and reduced cognitive function due to a lack of iodine in the earliest years of life.
• That is according to a new joint report by UNICEF and Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition released today.
• More than 1 in 4 of these children – 4.3 million – lives in South Asia.
• Brighter futures: Protecting early brain development through salt iodization notes that iodine deficiency is a leading cause of preventable brain damage worldwide.
• Insufficient iodine during pregnancy and infancy results in neurological and psychological deficits, reducing a child’s IQ by 8 to 10 points.
• This translates into major losses in the cognitive capital of entire nations and thus their socio-economic development.
• Salt iodization is both cost effective and economically beneficial at only US $0.02–0.05 per child annually. Every dollar spent on salt iodization is estimated to return US $30 through increased future cognitive ability.

• The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) launched its Annual Report for 2017 in Vienna earlier today. In the Report, the Board highlights that the need for treatment and rehabilitation largely outstrips the availability of services.
• The INCB urges Governments to place more emphasis on treatment and rehabilitation – with particular attention to the needs of special populations – rather than just focusing on prevention.
• The Board also calls on the international community and Afghanistan to work together to reprioritize responses to the drug challenge in that country.

• The Republic of Korea has paid its regular budget dues to the United Nations, bringing the Honour Roll to 62.